Pages

Thursday, August 9, 2012

I'm doing a lot with glitter lately. Not sure, I'm usually such a creme or shimmer person but for the past while I've been huge on glitter. Not like it's a trend or anything. One of my favorite layering combos that I've done recently has to be this one, BB Couture Dancing Queen with Rainbow Honey A Little Kindness.

Dancing Queen, from BB's Disco Fever Collection is a GORGEOUS rose coppery metallic that is quite possibly my perfect rose metal polish (which I've been searching for for a while). It paired perfectly with A Little Kindness, from Rainbow Honey's Equestria collection (an homage to My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic). This is my preferred glitter from that collection, it pairs a sheer yellow base and pink iridescent shimmer with gold and pink glitter pieces of varying shapes and sizes. Named for Fluttershy, my second favorite MLP. Gold and pink has to be my most loved color combo.

I love Rainbow Honey's branding and packaging for the most part, although I wish this label was straight. It brings out my OCD something fierce :/ I will be showing the other glitters from the Equestria collection soon, I bought most of them haha. Are you a MLP fan? I am SO Twilight Sparkle it's not even funny.

This manicure was seriously one I had a hard time changing, it was so freaking beautiful. It's hard to convey what a gorgeous spectacle it is in photos as the shimmer/bling factor is so high the sun mostly washed it out. Take my word for it, it's amazing and something you should try immediately if not sooner :)

You can get BB Couture polish from their website www.bbnailpolish.com for $9.95-$10.95 each and Rainbow Honey polish from http://www.rainbowhoney.com for $10 each. They sell mini's but I don't recommend them as the brush is so short it's awkward/difficult to polish well with them. What do you say? Like this mani as much as me?

These are my first American Apparel nail polishes, some from their new limited edition Sheer line. I la la love jelly nail polish so of course I was excited for them. The polishes are vibrant but sheer, colors designed with Summer in mind.

First I have Redondo Beach, a medium sky blue jelly. These polishes are all syrupy but with high pigmentation, they remind me of the OPI Texas Sorbets. This is four coats, build up to almost opacity but the translucent quality slightly remains.

Next is a coral, my clear favorite, Manhattan Beach. It's a gorgeous juicy jello coral jelly. I ADORE this. Three coats here. I can see myself wearing this over and over. And that is saying a lot for me.

Zuma Beach clearly has the best name of the polishes and even though I thought I would love this chartreuse kiwi green, I like it the least of the three. It seems more gloopy than the others and the color makes me look sick. Check out the piss poor job I did with my pinky, I must've forgotten that third coat on him.

All in all, I think these are winners. There are three other colors in the collection, a light pink, a darker blue, and a turquoise green. I am going to need the turquoise for sure. These lacquers all seem really perfect for layering or for jelly-glitter sandwiches which is what I'm probably going to use them for the most. They had some colorful ombre looks in the press release for these but I most likely won't attempt that and from other bloggers' experiences, it doesn't look as easy as expected (with these). I love the frosted bottles, hate the mirrored handles. And the bottle shape is awkward to me.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

A few of yous guys mentioned you'd like to see a comparison between a polish I showed you the other day, Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Temptation, and Essie Cute As A Button. Welp here ya go luvs!

Cute As A Button is one of my favorite Essie's ever and I really liked Temptation when I wore it but didn't make the connection to their similarity until it was pointed out to me by some readers. They actually are super similar, but not quite dupes.

The Essie is a smidge warmer/more coral and the Sally Hansen is a bit more opaque and is a total crème where the Essie has almost more of a jelly-crème finish. Both are excellent polishes. If you're having trouble finding Cute As A Button, try Temptation. You should be able to find it in stores wherever Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure is sold.

Friday, August 3, 2012

Hi friends :) A few people have asked me why the change in my blog name. Honestly, I've been thinking of taking out the "Also Known As..." bit for a while now, but the decision became easier when a copyright issue came to my attention this last month. To be safe and agreeable, I decided to make my blog name the same as my website address, KellieGonzo. It's not a terribly big deal but I wanted to mention it in case you were curious. If you didn't know, now ya do ;)

Also, I've had a tough few weeks, as you may have noticed from my sporadic posts. Unfortunately, my dumb head and my sad heart are to blame. I'm doing better now and thanks for your well wishes. Part of the reason (I won't bore you with the rest) is my kitty Sawyer has gone missing and it's been long enough that I'm thinking he won't be back. It's easy to forget sometimes to really enjoy the time you have with people you love, or pets you love in this case. It hit me a lot harder than I expected and I guess I was reminded that I have a heart after all. I'll be back and better than ever soon. Hug your kitty (or dog, or significant other, etc.) extra tight tonight for me.

This is Elephant Walk, a green toned graphite grey with a gorgeous shimmer. I expected to love this and I really do! This is two coats.

Desert Sun is a muted orangey butterscotch creme. I am not in love with this but it does look good on me. This is two coats.

This guy is Exotic Encounters, a dusty green teal creme. I flippen LA LA LOVE this! I didn't have a clue I'd be so head over heels with it and the picture does no justice. Perfect formula. Two coats.

Purr-fect Plum is a berry purple creme. Not super unique but pretty. This is two coats, but I think three might've looked a little more rich.

Jungle Queen is a super greyed dusty purple shimmer. I think my expectations were too high with this one, it kind of disappointed me. It looks a little dirty to me. Chanel Paradoxal is a similar idea, and in my opinion, much prettier. Two coats.

Man Hunt is a bright cobalt blue jelly creme. SO FAB. Two coats!

Call of the Wild is a chocolate sauce reddish brown. Nice and keeps with the theme well. Two coats.

I'm Not Lion is a freaking amazing glitter. A-MA-ZING! I was not excited about this at all from the promo shots, but this is seriously hot. Super blingy glittery champagne pale gold, with holo bits. Really sensational in the sun and even in the shade! And it's super easy to apply, very opaque, and just awesome. Dries seriously gritty and matte, so you need a thick topcoat. Two coats!

A second sexy hot glitter, I Herd That is a caramel orangey copper with gold and holo flecks. I kinda can't believe how much I like these. This is so super easy to apply, goes exactly where you want. Two coats :D

I am overall pretty impressed with this collection, it has some really great core colors that would be an asset to an polish lover's stash AND some standout unique lacquers that you definitely NEED. These should be on sale now at your local Sally Beauty Supply and various e-tailers. What are your thoughts on China Glaze's fall colors?